Trump: Palestinians Have No Choice but to Leave Gaza

6th February 2025

2 minutes read

Trump: Palestinians Have No Choice but to Leave Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Palestinians have no alternative but to leave the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump stated that Palestinians “would very much like” to leave the besieged enclave and live elsewhere if given the opportunity.

“They would very much like to leave Gaza,” he said, adding, “I think they would be very happy about it.”

Trump reiterated his proposal for Cairo and Amman to host residents from Gaza, saying, “I want to see Jordan and Egypt take in Palestinians from Gaza.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump‘s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, stated on Tuesday that “the major issue of where Gaza’s residents will go must be resolved.”

Speaking to reporters, he added, “When President Donald Trump talks about cleaning up Gaza, he means making it habitable.”

For his part, U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said that the United States is “looking to allies and partners in the region to help solve the problem of where displaced residents will go.”

“We believe the timeline for rebuilding Gaza will take 10 to 15 years,” he added.

These remarks from U.S. officials come ahead of a scheduled meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump on Tuesday.

Since January 25, President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested transferring Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, prompting a week of rejection from Cairo and Amman at both the presidential and diplomatic levels. Popular protests opposing the idea also took place last Friday at the Rafah border crossing, alongside two separate phone calls between Trump and his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts discussing bilateral cooperation.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023, Egypt and Jordan have warned against plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank across their borders.

After 15 months of war in Gaza, a ceasefire agreement came into effect on January 19. However, Israel and Hamas have since accused each other of violating its terms.

Earlier today, Hamas announced the start of the second phase of ceasefire negotiations between Palestinian factions and Israel.

This second phase is expected to result in the release of the last surviving hostages held in Gaza and bring an end to the war that erupted following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.